It isn’t often that you see a team ranked No. 2 in the country on the verge of a National Championship as a 4 point underdog in a game, but that’s what the Auburn Tigers are facing this weekend as they travel to the defending champs, the Alabama Crimson Tide in the annual Iron Bowl. The Tide have rolled in this series in recent years, but if there was ever a year to win a game in Tuscaloosa, this would be the one.

We’ve already seen teams light up these Tigers all over the place, especially in big time games, and this is probably going to be no exception. Bama’s offense was the strength of its team coming into this year, as Greg McElroy, Julio Jones, and last year’s Heisman Trophy winner, Mark Ingram were all considered prime players in the SEC. Though the Tide have slacked at times this year, this is a game that they can get up for with ease, and we know that the Tigers just don’t have the oomph, especially on the road, to limit them from getting the job done.

We have a hard time arguing with what Newton has done this year. If not for the fact that he is facing these allegations from the NCAA right now, Newton’s accomplishments would be compared to what Vince Young did for the Texas Longhorns when they won the BCS National Championship over the USC Trojans. There just wasn’t a defense in the country, regardless of how many future NFL players were out there, that was able to stop Young, and Newton looks to be in the exact same ship.

Auburn vs Alabama Betting Key #3: Auburn has won at home, but can it win on the road?

Here’s the million dollar question. The Tigers really haven’t beaten anyone of tremendous note on the road this year, as both the LSU Tigers and Arkansas Razorbacks came to Jordan Hare Stadium. The Tigers do have a win at the Mississippi State Bulldogs to their credit, but that ‘W’ is looking a bit shoddy after recent weeks. We believe that Gene Chizik does not have the ability to get the job done on this type of a stage, but if he does, the Tigers deserve to be in the title game.

AUBURN VS. ALABAMA “IRON BOWL” SCORE PREDICTION:

Though the Tigers aren’t going to win it, we tend to believe that they can stick in it, and that’s saying something. Many bettors are all over Alabama to cover this number, but we tend to believe that Newton is single handedly going to carry Auburn towards glory. However, his defense will come up just short in the end, as McElroy generates the game winning touchdown drive to end the Tigers’ chances of winning the title.

– Auburn is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
– The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Auburn’s last 6 games when playing Alabama
– Auburn is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Alabama
– Auburn is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games when playing Alabama
– Alabama is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
– The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Alabama’s last 5 games at home
– Alabama is 22-2 SU in its last 24 games
– The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Alabama’s last 6 games when playing Auburn